How Wives Celebrate Valentine's Day

Ladies,

Happy Valentines Day

There is no secret here, I luv weddings!

Any time a woman tell me that she is getting married, I become her biggest cheerleader. Now let me tell you a few things about me. First of all, I am really a cheerleader. From elementary school to college I wore the short skirt, clapped my hands for my team, and was lifted to the top of the pyramid. For those of you who don't like cheering from the side lines, sorry. I luv it.

Secondly, I have found that my husband needs a wife who can be his ultimate cheerleader. When life puts him on the defense, I need to cheer. When he scores a win in some area he has been challenged, I need to cheer. When our family is winning, I cheer and when God wins another couple to His covenant called marriage, I really cheer.

Now that we have that straight, let me tell you about my newly wed wife in North Carolina and why we should all love like this newly wed. After being married for a few months, this wonderful wife noticed that her husband wanted her to cook. He is apparently the better cook in the family and has never minded preparing the meals. They had agreed that he would do it however, she is already a Wife On Purpose so she readily picked up on a simple comment he made one day. She realized that he really did want her to cook, at least sometimes.

This great wife, did not complain. She decided to do something special for her husband once a month. For month 5 of their marriage, she took off from work half a day and prepared this meal that he would luv. 
I dare say, he enjoyed every bite and was one proud husband taking his lunch to work the next day.

What is my point?

That all Wives On Purpose can love with same care as newly wed wives by doing these 4 simple things.

• Take care to listen to your husbands desires.
• Take time away from your work to meet his needs.
• Take the credit he freely gives when he is happy with your gift of love.
• Take time to share a picture with other wives who need reminding and encouraging.

By the way, notice the "M". It starts her new last name. Thank you Mrs. McLaughlin for being a fabulous example for us.

I pray you all cook up a great Valentine's Day for your hubby and enjoy fresh new love all year long.

Want help to love like the newlyweds?
Get a copy of my teaching" Beautiful In His Sight"

Need some help making time to cook?
Get a copy of my new release "Time Management for busy wives"

Comment below and tell us how you show your husband that you love him? 

Helping Marriages Stay On Purpose

Lisa Ellis Williams

It's Valentine's Day... again!

Let's get ready Wives! 

Valentine's Day is coming and this year I pose this question. 

Whose affection are you seeking on this day of LOVE? The most common answer for a Wife On Purpose is "my husband". So dear wife, how do you plan to capture his heart and fuel his passion this year?

If your marriage is red hot and on fire then anything you do will be cooking. This year is easy. Purchase any gift, card, or make any reservation you like and see what the day and night yields.

If your marriage is Luke-warm and mundane, it's going to take some creative effort on your part and you will need friends to motivate you to action. Go ahead and do something. You won't regret it and since I have just  encouraged you, skip asking your girlfriends. The chatter will waste valuable time needed to plan.

If your marriage is ice cold, dry and dead, you have probably given up on any reason to celebrate and any hope that your husband will even care. You may even be worried that his affection has been taken by another woman. Yes, I said it. It happens around this time of year.

Rather than focus on receiving your husband's affection and struggling to get it, I propose that you make a shift.

Wrap your thoughts around giving with grace and pleasure! After all this is Love Day and as Christians we are called to love thy neighbor and *thy husband (*emphasis mine) as thyself.

How do you love yourself?

Let's count the ways: 

1) Wake up with a smile- Now go ahead and smile when you say good morning to your husband.

2) Dress giving special attention to details and covering flaws. Love will cover a multitude of your husband's flaws.  The world does not need to know everything he fails to do for you.

3) Feed yourself- Try fixing a special plate for your husband and feed him.  Make it breakfast instead of dinner for a change. 

4) Treat yourself to all kinds of delightful "stuff." Well, get to it. Pick up all of those little treats for your husband. You know what he likes.

5) Compliment yourself on just about everything. Go ahead, give him a long list. Start by saying "Honey, here are just some of things I love about you...." Write the list in a card using red ink if you like.

6) You make provisions to rest and refresh from a long day. Your husband needs this too. Get your marriage bed ready so that when he falls into your arms, even your scent will be a refreshment. Love him and receive his love so that rest will come easily. Entice him even if you don't feel like it. You love yourself to feel better. Do the same for him.

Valentine's Day is the appointed time. This year, if you are going to love then do it by giving.


Count the ways you will have loved yourself and your husband. Once you are finished you will captured the heart of God and nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Now that is worth a Valentines Day celebration!

Write your plans in the comments. I luv to hear from you! 
  
Ministering to marriages, one wife at a time,
Lisa Ellis Williams

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I never knew there was a method or a skill to being a good wife!  I didn’t know because I had never seen one.  Coming from a single parent home with no role models has presented me with challenges in my marriage. I thank GOD for you, Lisa! You are doing Kingdom work and GOD is so pleased!

~Hope, Washington, DC, Wife On Purpose, 2010 

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On Purpose In love and marriage
Lisa 

Lunch Dates

Greetings Ladies,

The more we talk, the more I am convinced that we are too busy. Our days are packed with events and commitments that we are constantly seeking ways to make time for self care. Repeatedly, I hear your cry for rest, solitude, and time to refresh the spirit. Most of us would enjoy a week long retreat with a nanny to care for home in our absence.

If you can schedule that, please do it as soon as you feel the need. For the rest of you, I offer a short easy way to care for yourself every day. If you do this one thing regularly you will be sure to keep yourself at the top of your priority list. Wives On Purpose know how important that is to me.

Here is my secret:
Make a lunch date with yourself and keep it. 

I know you are thinking: I am too busy. I eat lunch at my desk while I work. Others worry that co-workers will disrupt their time or perhaps you forget to take lunch at all. As my twelve year old daughter would say" Pish Posh!".

For most of you, lunch time during the work day is the only time you still have control over. It is the only time you can consistently plan for and give to yourself.

Since 1995, I have been keeping lunch dates with Lisa. During lunch I can eat foods that my family doesn't like. I shut off my phone to get away from gossip or idle chatter from friends and even family. I read books for pleasure and flip through magazines. Lunch time can be a long walk, grocery store errand, or time for a power nap.

If planned for, lunch time can be one of the most productive, and refreshing times of each day because you did what you wanted to do. For just and hour each day you were first on your list. Don't you deserve that? I think you do. Go ahead and make a date with yourself for lunch. Just remember the success comes when you actually keep it! 

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Plan to take lunch by marking the time as busy on your calendar.
• Set an alarm on your phone with reminders with the time, date, and location.
• Pick a spot. A nearby park, library, your car, and even a building lobby will work.
• Treat yourself to food that you like. Even your favorite sandwich is a treat.
• Guard the time as if you are meeting with your highest boss.
• Don't cancel unless it's an emergency

I hope this helps you get much needed "me"time. If you still need help working on priorities, visit the lesson in Wife School.  You can purchase the study complete with lessons on CD here.

Now, I am off to grab my lunch and think about what is for DINNER! (that post is for another day)


Staying on Purpose
Lisa Ellis Williams

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Praying with Purpose

Greetings Ladies!

It's hard for me to believe that February is underway and 2014 is not so new anymore. What have you been doing to grow in love and marriage so far this year? I have been stretched in a few areas. One of them is going deeper in prayer.

Can you believe after all I have taught on prayer and that God would really think I should grow more! Yes, go ahead and laugh, I did but these were my true thoughts for a quick moment and thus began my growing by conviction. God always wants us to pray and grow closer to HIM. Our flesh and common sense will have us think we are good with that.

Wrong answer!
Here is how growth looks for me.

I registered for a new Bible Study in January.
Rule #1. Always find a new class and study the Bible. My study has incorporated a early morning prayer call.

Rule #2. Get up early to pray and let other women hold you accountable. I was doing great at first. Then I got sick, and overslept the call. I missed the others in my group.

Rule #3. Press your way to God's throne of grace to receive mercy. I made it to my daughters family birthday dinner....missed the prayer call.....
After missing the call for not one but two days, I woke up feeling better this morning. I laid in bed deciding if I was going to dial in. What!  Did I say deciding? Had I lost my mind?

Rule #4 When God wakes you up and wants to be with you by all means go! You will NOT be disappointed. From today's time in prayer God gave me new plans to serve my husband, family, and YOU!

I am glad I did not let my body, good reasoning, and pure disobedience keep me from hearing what God wanted to share with me today.

I hope you will grow in your prayer life this year. After all, if you are like me and leading other women, you must lead by example. I am praying for you and please keep me in your prayers.

Serving on Purpose
Lisa Ellis Williams

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